


A long time coming

by steveandbucky



Series: in any version of reality [13]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Police, Attempt at Humor, Detectives, Drunk Sex, Drunken Confessions, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Hook-Up, Kissing, M/M, Police, Undercover, Undercover Missions, Undercover as a Couple, b99 au, background nat/sharon, brooklyn nine nine au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-12
Updated: 2016-04-12
Packaged: 2018-06-01 22:07:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6538033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steveandbucky/pseuds/steveandbucky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve gets to his feet and greets him with a less-than-friendly hug, whispering “Play along,” close to Bucky’s ear. That’s followed by a chaste, closed-mouth kiss on his lips, and when they break apart, Bucky stares at him with eyes open wide in shock and his jaw hanging slack.</p><p>“Happy anniversary, babe,” Steve says, grinning ear to ear as he extends the single red rose he’d picked up earlier.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A long time coming

**Author's Note:**

> aka that undercover relationship b99 AU no one asked for  
> comments would be greatly appreciated :D

“What’s your number?”

Steve frowns, though his gaze is directed at the polygraph machine and not at Tony, who is sitting across the table from him, and was the one who asked the question. 

They’re in the break room of their workplace, playing Truth or Dare – except without the Dare, because last time they played that Captain Fury came back earlier than planned and found Tony and Bucky trying to put out a small fire, while Clint chased after a goat and Natasha was seconds away from throwing a knife to an apple balanced on Sharon’s head. 

All in all, it’s not a bad way to spend his Saturday morning, since they’d been called to work for an unscheduled and rather urgent team evaluation. The polygraph is just there to ensure everyone is being honest at all times when answering the questions, because that’s one of the perks of being a cop apparently. 

“My number?” Steve asks, now looking at Tony and still sounding a little confused. It’s too simple a question, too innocent, considering that for the last half hour they’ve been asking and answering questions that are way too sexual in nature. “7-1-8…” he starts to say, but is cut off. 

“Are you being intentionally daft?” Tony asks, narrowing his eyes in disbelief. 

“He means your sexual history number,” Sharon pipes up from where she’s lying on the small couch, curled up on her side with her head resting on Natasha’s lap. 

“Number of people you’ve slept with,” Nat adds helpfully. 

“Oh,” Steve’s eyes widen as he catches on. “I haven’t kept count.”

Clint snickers from where he’s perched on top of the fridge while Tony rolls his eyes at him. 

“Well then,” he rips out a paper from a notepad and slides it across the table along with a pen. “Start counting.”

Steve gets to the task at hand, though he’s not even sure he wants to answer the question. He starts listing off the names, starting with the ones that come to mind first in no particular order. He remembers most of them, he thinks, even if some of those relationships were shorter in time and more casual in nature. 

The rest of the group continues chatting about the topic while Steve works on his list, although it’s more like Tony going around the room and asking everyone else about their numbers.

Natasha refuses to answer. “You guys already know too much about me.”

Tony gives her a pointed look. “I know exactly three things about you: your name, your birthday, and the fact that you’re a cop.”

“How do you know when my birthday is?” she asks, narrowing her eyes at him. 

Steve chuckles to himself as he keeps an ear to the conversation. Sharon, Clint and Tony all comply with their own numbers, and Clint nearly chokes on his coffee when he hears Tony’s answer.

“42?! Seriously? That’s almost as old as you are, jeez!”

Tony beams. “Yup. And I didn’t even start until I was 16,” he says, sounding utterly smug about it. 

Clint mutters something about the man needing rehab and that makes Steve laugh again. He’s a little glad that Tony is the promiscuous one in the squad and that will probably not bring too much attention to his own number, which is turning out to be a lot higher than he expected. 

“What about you, Barnes?”

Bucky had been quiet for a long time, sitting on the counter behind Steve, with his arms crossed against his chest and no doubt glowering at them. Steve had almost forgotten he was in the room, if he’s being honest. 

“None of your damn business,” he bites out, though there’s no real heat in his voice. “What’s it matter how many people you’ve slept with anyway?”

“Well, we gotta know if you’re a slut or a prude.”

Natasha rolls her eyes at Tony. “Doesn’t matter. ‘S just a game.”

“How come you didn’t provide us with yours then?” Bucky asks, the tiniest of smiles curling his lips. Nat fixes him with a look of exasperation and Bucky shrugs. “I don’t feel obligated to share that about myself, so let’s move on.”

“Pfft, you’re no fun. Ooh, I have another good one.” Tony perks up. “Strangest place you’ve ever had sex,” 

Steve huffs while he’s doodling random geometric patterns on the corner of the page. “Why is every goddamn question you ask about sex?” he mutters, mostly to himself.

Tony just waves a hand around dismissively. “Shush, you just keep working on your so-called list,” he says and starts unhooking the machine from Steve, inviting Bucky to take a seat at the table. Bucky complies without protest. 

Steve brings his list closer to himself and hunches his shoulders as if to hide it, because he’s not about to share the entirety of his sexual history with Bucky of all people. To his credit, Bucky doesn’t even try to sneak a peek.

“Please state your name for the record.”

“James Barnes.”

Tony goes on to ask him to state his birthday and current address as he stares at Bucky, who stares back at the man, unblinking while he answers the questions.

“So, Barnes. What’s the strangest place you’ve had sex?”

After a moment of thinking, Bucky answers. “Kitchen counter?” he says, though there’s some uncertainty in his voice, like he’s not sure if Tony would consider that a strange place to have sex or something he does on the daily.

“Wait!” Tony practically jumps out of his chair, pointing at the machine. “He’s lying!”

Bucky frowns. “Why would I lie?”

Tony’s eyebrows shoot up, the expression on his face clearly saying that he’s not buying Bucky’s alleged bullshit. “Do you know what this does?” he asks, pointing to the polygraph. “It literally tells you when a person is lying.”

“Not really,” Natasha pipes up then. “It measures your vital signs like heartbeat. Which could be otherwise compromised.”

Steve is sure he’s turned a wonderful shade of deep crimson at this point, even though he’s not the one who’s on the receiving end of Natasha’s knowing smirk. 

Bucky simply glares at her in return. 

Maria Hill appears in the room then, gesturing at Steve to follow her for his evaluation. Steve folds up the paper and tucks it in his back pocket as he walks to the door.

“Wait, you didn’t tell us your number yet!” Sharon calls out.

Steve sighs. He stills near the door and throws them a smile behind his shoulder and gives them his phone number before he walks away, though he still hears their responses – a mixture of annoyed groans and amused laughter. 

 

~~

 

“Oh hey,” Bucky says when he picks up the phone. “I was about to text you, are you on your way?”

“More or else,” Steve says into his phone, grimacing slightly. He  _ was _ on his way to Bucky’s apartment for their arranged movie night. At the moment, though, he’s hiding in the toilet of a French restaurant. “I may or may not be tailing a suspect right now,” he says finally.

There’s a beat of silence before Bucky speaks. “What suspect?”

“That human trafficking case we did a while back? Remember that guy Pierce?”

“Not officially a suspect.”

“Yeah, sure,” Steve breathes out as he sneaks a look outside his stall to make sure no one else has come in. “I have a hunch so I followed him into this restaurant. I managed to get a table but… I need back up. You think you can be here in fifteen?”

Bucky sighs in exasperation. “Oh  _ come on, _ Steve, it’s  _ movie night _ .”

“I know, I know,” Steve bites his bottom lip. “It’s okay if you can’t-”

He’s cut off by Bucky’s incoherent grumbling and muttering as he no doubt untangles himself from his cocoon of blankets and gets up, shuffling around to find his shoes. Steve gives him the name and address of the restaurant and adds, “Oh and…dress nice,” before hanging up. He’s dressed in a dark pair of denims and a sky blue shirt so he thinks his own appearance can pass off as ‘dressed up for romantic date night’ instead of ‘casual movie night with friend.’ 

Bucky shows up exactly fifteen minutes later, wearing a similar nice-jeans-and-a-shirt outfit and looking… well,  _ stunning _ , if Steve’s being honest. His hair is brushed back and gathered into a neat ponytail, and though he has a two-day-old scruff he manages to pull it off and looks classy and handsome instead of his usual moody-and-brooding high school rebel. He smiles when he spots Steve across the restaurant and makes his way over. Steve gets to his feet and greets him with a less-than-friendly hug, whispering “Play along,” close to Bucky’s ear. That’s followed by a chaste, closed-mouth kiss on his lips, and when they break apart, Bucky stares at him with eyes open wide in shock and his jaw hanging slack.

“Happy anniversary, babe,” Steve says, grinning ear to ear as he extends the single red rose he’d picked up earlier. 

Bucky stares at the flower for a moment before he takes it. His expression quickly shifts as he catches on, and he gives Steve a fond smile. “Happy anniversary, sweetheart. Thanks for this,” he says, bringing the flower closer to take a whiff. “I love it.”

The waitress smiles politely at them and hands them their menus and then takes off. Bucky immediately turns to glare at Steve with such intensity that Steve thinks there’ll be a big hole right through his skull by the time they leave the place.

“What the hell?”

Steve then goes on to explain himself because yeah, he should have warned Bucky, and he’s not surprised Bucky’s not too happy with him. He leans forward on the table and keeps his voice low when he speaks. To anyone watching, they look like a couple on a date. Not police officers on an impromptu undercover assignment. 

“Only way I could manage to get a table was tell the maitre d’ that it’s our one year anniversary and I forgot to book a table and you were pissed off at me and I didn’t want to screw up.”

Bucky raises a disbelieving eyebrow at him. “How’d you pull that off? I thought you were a terrible liar.”

“I am a fantastic actor though.” Steve grins cheekily, though he sneaks a glance to the other end of the room where the suspect is sat. “I was ready to pull the fake crying card when she finally gave in.”

Bucky hums like he doesn’t believe him. He picks up his menu and scans it idly. “Why were you tailing Pierce to begin with? This isn’t even your case. Actually, there isn’t even a case to begin with.”

Steve looks at the table Pierce is at again. “The guy he’s with, I think I recognise him from a drugs bust we did a few months ago. He was the suspected head of that operation, remember?”

Bucky gives him a blank look. “So it’s what, a business dinner?”

“Could be,” Steve shrugs. “I spotted them outside and followed them here. Thought I could pick up something, who knows.”

Bucky’s still staring at him. A moment later he sighs and looks at the menu, muttering something unintelligible under his breath.

Steve turns his gaze on him, giving up on trying to lip-read the conversation the two men are having; he’s not that good at it to begin with, and the restaurant is dimly lit, and he’s distracted by the whole pretending-to-be-on-a-date-with-Bucky thing anyway. 

“Something wrong?” he asks, frowning at Bucky, though he has a pretty good idea why Bucky is annoyed at him. He really should’ve called Natasha instead, but she lives a good half hour away and he’d made plans to spend the evening with Bucky anyway…

Bucky shakes his head. “Nope, everything’s great,” he spits out between gritted teeth. 

Steve lets out a breath and tries to ignore that feeling in his stomach that tells him this was a bad idea. “I mean, if you think it’s pointless we can just take off…”

“Nah,” Bucky says, still scanning the menu. “Yeah, it’s pointless and stupid and if they make us we’re done for, but you’re buying so let’s stay.” He says and smiles sweetly at Steve, before turning to the waitress who’s come to take their order. 

 

~~

 

Something is off. Steve senses it as soon as Bucky flops down on his chair at his desk across from Steve’s on Monday morning. He drops his backpack next to his feet and grunts out his usual ‘’Morning’ as a greeting, then spends the next hour checking his emails and catching up on news while drinking coffee, and generally ignoring Steve.

It’s only until Natasha comes around, dropping a case file on Bucky’s table and casually asking, “How was your weekend?” that Steve catches on and thinks,  _ oh, shit. _

“Good, good,” Bucky grins at her cheerily. “Steve took me out for dinner.”

Steve actually, honest-to-God squawks in response. 

Natasha raises a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at the blond. “That so?”

“Yeah,” Bucky nods enthusiastically. Steve doesn’t miss the mischievous glint in his eye when they make eye contact. “A nice French place, very romantic. Food was lovely. Dessert, too.”

The fucker actually  _ winks  _ at him.

By lunch time, everyone in the office knows about Steve and Bucky’s date. It’s the hot gossip of the week, it seems. Even  _ Hill  _ tells him, “’Bout time you pulled your heads out of your asses,” and Steve blushes a deep crimson and mumbles an excuse before he scatters off, grabbing Bucky by the arm and dragging him to the evidence locker with him. 

“What the hell are you doing?”

“What?” Bucky asks, smiling innocently. “We went on a date, didn’t we?”

“Yeah, a  _ pretend  _ one!” Steve exclaims, throwing his arms up in exasperation. 

Bucky shrugs. “So pretend,” he says, and makes for the door. 

“The hell does that mean?”

Bucky around, fixing Steve with a blank, unreadable look. “All I did was make a joke with Nat, because I thought she’d figure out it was a joke. You’re the one who didn’t correct her when she assumed it was the truth. Or anyone else, for that matter.”

Steve stares at him, stunned into being stood frozen in his spot. Bucky shakes his head at him, and there’s a tiny hint of a smile on his lips before he walks out the door, leaving Steve blinking at him in surprise.

 

~~

 

_ How does this keep happening to him? _

“We don’t have a warrant for this!” Bucky had hissed at him. 

“I know, I know,” Steve had whispered as they’d stepped out of the elevator and started looking for the apartment of the suspect. “I just need to know if I’m right about her and then I’ll have an “actual reason” to request a warrant and we’ll come back with it, okay?” 

Apparently Captain Fury didn’t consider ‘having a gut feeling’ enough of a reason to list someone as a suspect. Steve just  _ knew  _ there was something suspicious about her, though.

“We’ll probably end up spooking her, so no, not okay. Let’s just head back to the precinct and do some more digging, maybe we’ll-”

Steve had stopped at the door. “You know, I think she should be at work. Won’t be back for another hour.”

Bucky had looked at him with wide eyes. “What the fuck are you – that’s basically breaking and entering, you realise that right?!” he’d hissed again, louder this time.

“That’s not what I’m suggesting!” Steve had whispered back at him, though he sounded much calmer than Bucky. 

“Then what?” Bucky had asked, crossing his arms against his chest. 

And that’s when they heard the elevator door open.

Now they’re standing there looking at each other in panic until Steve grabs Bucky by the lapels of his jacket and pushes him against the door and before he has a chance to think twice he’s leaning forward and kissing Bucky. It’s nothing like their first kiss in the restaurant; this one is hurried and somewhat messy, all tongues and teeth, but it comes across as hungry and passionate all the same. Steve steps closer then, snaking his arms around Bucky’s waist and pressing up against him, and Bucky actually moans into his mouth, clearly enjoying himself.

Someone next to them clears their throat loudly and the men jump apart, pretending to be surprised. The woman points to the door and jingles her key in front of them and Steve puts on his best apologetic smile. 

“Is that your apartment?” he looks at the door number. “Oh, shit. 210. Ours is 212. My apologies, we’re new to this building.”

“Sure,” the woman replies, arching an eyebrow at them. 

Bucky mumbles an apology and ducks his head, smiling shyly. “Have a nice day, ma’am,” he tells her before he grabs Steve’s hand and drags him away. 

Once they round the corner at the end of the hallway, Bucky turns and grabs Steve, slamming him against the wall. Steve swallows hard, nervous to be at the receiving end of Bucky’s death glare. 

“Okay, listen, I-” he starts to say, but is cut off by Bucky’s lips pressing against his own.

Huh. And he thought Bucky was gonna punch him. 

It’s less chaste than their first kiss, but not as messy as the second one. Bucky kisses him slowly and sweetly, putting his hand on Steve’s neck and pulling him closer. Then Steve’s brain finally catches up and he starts kissing him back, and it’s slow and deep and gentle, but there’s a different kind of urgency beneath all that. Bucky licks Steve’s bottom lip and sucks it between his lips, softly biting down on it before he pulls away to smirk as Steve groans, immediately missing the taste of Bucky’s mouth on his. 

“So, you find what you were looking for?” Bucky asks, his voice a mere whisper. His face is still just a few inches away from Steve’s. 

Steve blinks at him. “Yeah,” he breathes out, though he’s not even sure what Bucky had asked him. He would have probably said ‘yeah’ even if Bucky had suggested they jump off the roof for some odd reason. 

“Good.” Bucky steps back, straightens up and turns on his heel, marching towards the elevator. 

 

~~

 

“If you sigh one more time I’m gonna kick you in the face,” Natasha threatens, bent over the pool table and ready to take a shot. 

Clint giggles a little as he sways drunkenly and knocks his shoulder against Steve’s. “What’s gotten into you, Rogers?”

Steve sighs again. “Bucky kissed me,”

He’s met with two blank stares; his brain catches up to him belatedly and he realises that it’s been a week and everyone at their precinct still think that he and Bucky are dating.

“What’s going on?” Sharon re-joins their group at that moment, sliding up to Natasha and passing the lipstick back to her, then slinging an arm around her shoulders. 

“Apparently,” Natasha says, licking her lips. “Bucky kissed Steve, and Steve is all kinds of confused now.”

The blonde raises her eyebrows at Steve. “Isn’t that something he’s expected to do, now that you two are a thing?” she asks.

Steve scowls at both women. Something in their matching amused expressions tells him they’ve figured it out. Clint, who’s barely suppressing his laughter, seems to have caught on too. 

He simply shrugs and goes on to tell them what happened the previous week and their fake undercover date, and the second story of their impromptu makeout session two days ago. 

“Hmm,”

“So, actually,” Sharon says. “ _ You  _ kissed  _ him _ .”

Steve rolls his eyes. “Yeah, for cover. Then he kissed me like…like he meant it.”

Natasha lets out a deep breath, nostrils flaring in annoyance as she mutters something about boys being dumb, her girlfriend nodding in agreement. Clint laughs at the two of them and takes his turn at the pool table, sloppily missing his shot since he’s more than a little drunk, then he walks up to Steve, leaning on the wall next to him. 

“So, you like him,”

It’s not a question, but a statement, and a rather obvious one at that. More than that, it’s the truth, because Steve knows he’s way past the friendly stage, going onto a full-blown crush. 

Bucky had joined their precinct two years ago, having transferred from the 57 th  for unknown reasons. Steve had taken an instant liking to him, and it had very little to do how gorgeous Bucky was; he was smart and hardworking and a damn good detective. They got along, worked well together, and were a successful pair in the squad, having solved a few big cases in the last couple of years. They hang out as friends outside of work, flirted with each other more often than not, but it was mostly teasing and banter that could pass off as friendly, if not for the way Bucky looked at him sometimes, lustful eyes peering at him through thick lashes, traveling up and down his body. 

So when Bucky asked him out a few weeks ago, making it very clear that he wanted them to go on a date and not just hang out as friends, Steve was a little dumbfounded. He should have expected it, really – it wasn’t as out of the blue as he’d thought. But the last thing he needed was ruining their friendship  _ and  _ partnership for a romance that probably wouldn’t last beyond half a dozen dates. At least, that’s what Steve thought, considering his disastrous dating record and the fact that Bucky flirted with  _ everyone _ ; half his colleagues and anyone remotely attractive he met on one of their group nights out.

So Steve had said no, Bucky hadn’t insisted, and things had been awkward for a little while before they went back to being friends, even if Bucky didn’t flirt with him anymore and they didn’t hang out just the two of them as often as before. 

Steve resolutely ignores that he’s attracted to Bucky, and the fact that the man in question is making increasingly frequent appearances in Steve’s fantasies. He ignores being told that he and Bucky “were a good match” and that them dating “was a long time coming”. 

Most of all, he ignores the fact that he wants to kiss Bucky again – and for real, this time. Like he means it.

 

~~

 

Clint leaves relatively early, saying he wants to go home ‘cause he misses his dog, Tony finds someone new to hook up with, and Natasha drags Sharon away after she nearly falls asleep on Nat’s shoulder. And that leaves only Bucky across the table from him, sipping beer from a bottle, as he scans the crowd, and Steve cannot fucking look away from Bucky’s mouth, and the way his lips close around the bottle whenever he takes a sip. 

Bucky catches him staring and smirks at him. “See something you like?”

Steve feels his whole face heat up as he averts his gaze to the little special cocktails menu that’s stood at the middle of the table. “Think I might try one of these,” he mumbles, changing the subject. 

He’s neither drunk nor sober enough to be on the receiving end of those  _ looks  _ Bucky keeps giving him, and to be playfully flirting with him. 

Bucky hums, grabbing the menu from Steve’s hands, their fingers brushing together as he does. He scoots his way through the circular booth and sits next to Steve, their shoulders pressed together. 

“Try this one,” he says in a low voice, pointing to a strawberry margarita. “They’re to die for,”

Steve nods helplessly. His heart is racing in his chest from sitting so close to Bucky, and even worse when Bucky grins at him and turns his body slightly so he’s facing Steve, placing an arm on the top of the seat behind him. 

“You okay?” he asks then, casual as ever, and Steve nods again. 

They order their drinks, both agreeing it’s the last one they should have, and clink their glasses, toasting to a job well done for their joint efforts in arresting a rather notorious criminal earlier in the day. 

Next thing Steve knows, it’s two hours and three more drinks later, and he’s swaying and stumbling as they walk home together, arms looped together and giggling like teenagers at things that aren’t even that funny to begin with.

Bucky stops in front of his building and turns to him. “You like me,” he slurs, grabbing him by the lapels of his brown leather jacket. “Right? You like me, Steve?”

Steve nods eagerly, eyes open as wide as his pupils are blown, drunk and aroused and more than a little surprised by Bucky’s question, but willing to go along with it anyway. He steps closer and puts his arms around Bucky’s waist, presses his nose against the man’s cheek.

“I like you, I like you so much,”

“Mmm,” Bucky hums, pressing closer to him. He puts a hand on the back of Steve’s neck and presses their mouths together. “Then let me take you home,”

“No, no,” Steve shakes his head then dives in to kiss him again. “No, don’t want casual. Want you,” 

Bucky looks right into his eyes as he says, “I don’t want casual. Who said I want casual?” his hand curls at the front of Steve’s t-shirt. “You’re an idiot. I want you. Want to date you, and to kiss you, and – and everything, Steve, everything,” 

Steve nods and kisses him again and again, short, messy kisses exchanged hastily, while he grabs onto Bucky desperately. “Okay,” he says breathlessly. “Yeah, yeah, okay,” and shit, he’s basically turned into putty and it’s all because Bucky’s hands are in his hair, their bodies pressed together, lips moving against each other’s while they kiss frantically.

It’s no surprise at all that he ends up lying naked on his back in Bucky’s bed, with those sinful pink lips he kept yearning for wrapped around his cock, and his head spinning while he moans and writhes and gasps Bucky’s name as he comes. 

 

~~

 

He wakes up to warm sunlight on his skin, and a warm body pressed against his, and Steve smiles contentedly as he looks down at the man who’s asleep next to him, pressed up against Steve’s side. It’s too early to be awake, as the clock next to him reads 6:23AM, so Steve rolls over and goes back to sleep, grinning even wider when Bucky immediately curls around him, spooning him. 

The next time he wakes up it’s to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and Bucky humming as he walks in the bedroom, with nothing but a towel around his waist, his hair wet from the shower. 

“Hey you,” he leans over the bed and presses a soft kiss to Steve’s lips, who is sitting up on the bed, leaning back on his arms. Steve blushes and looks away. Bucky raises an eyebrow at him, and walks over to his wardrobe to get some clean clothes, 

“Didn’t peg you for the ‘being all shy after fucking someone’ type,” Bucky says, back turned to Steve, slipping into a black pair of boxer briefs that draw Steve’s gaze to his ass.

“I’m not being shy,” Steve retaliates with an obvious lie, drawing his gaze away and covering himself while looking for his underwear. “It’s just-”

“Regretting it?”

“ _ No _ ,” he looks up, meeting Bucky in the eye, glad that they’re both a little less naked. “No, I’m not. Are you?”

Bucky sighs. He shakes his head and walks over to the bed, sitting next to Steve and looking down at his hands folded together in his lap. “This isn’t exactly how I wanted things to happen…”

“Me neither,” 

“But I don’t regret it. It was nice waking up to you. I’d like to do that again.”

“Yeah,” Steve breaths out, studying the profile of the man sitting next to him, until Bucky looks up and meets his gaze, making him smile and duck his head. “I’d like to do that again, too.”

Bucky lets out a deep sigh. “What do you want from me?”

“Everything,” Steve replies without thinking first. “I mean, the whole, go on a date and see how things go, let’s do that.”

“You sure? What about that stuff you said about making things weird at work and what if our friendship is ruined, all that bullshit?” 

Unexpectedly, he laughs, the sound startled out of him. “That was bullshit, huh?”

Bucky shrugs, a smile twitching the corners of his mouth. “To me it was. I thought you were just turning me down and being nice about it,”

Steve shakes his head. “I’m sorry. I was worried, but...I think it’s worth giving it a shot. Cause I really like you. And I like kissing you. Can I kiss you again?”

Bucky rolls his eyes. “You’re an idiot. But I like you too,” he says then, before leaning in to kiss him, soft and slow. “Now, it’s Saturday morning, which means having cereal on the couch with cartoons. You’re welcome to join me.”

“Sounds awesome,” Steve grins. 

Bucky makes them cereal while Steve flips through the channels, and they sit together on the couch, only wearing their underwear, eating their breakfast and laughing as they watch old  _ Looney Tunes _ cartoons for a good two hours. 

Bucky kisses him again before Steve takes off, and he heads home with a smile on his face, goofy enough to receive a few odd looks on the subway; not that he cares. 

 

~~

 

Steve flips a pen between his fingers as he listens to Fury talk about their new assignment. It’s hard to focus when Bucky’s sitting next to him, with his arms crossed against his chest, knee pressed to Steve’s, smelling so fucking good that all Steve wants to do is drag him to the evidence room and have his way with him. 

“...and so, it’s best that two of you are sent undercover, posing as a couple-”

“I volunteer!” Steve cries out, raising a hand, suddenly alert. 

Fury raises an eyebrow at him, while Bucky snorts in laughter, trying to contain himself. 

“Well, aren’t you eager,” Natasha teases him, smirking at him. 

“Who is better suited for this assignment, than your best detective,” Steve says, pointing at himself, and then nods at Bucky. “And my best guy?”


End file.
